Primate Evolution
Section 1: Primates
Section 2: Hominoids to Hominins
Section 3: Human Ancestry
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Section 1
Primate Evolution
Primates
Characteristics of Primates
 Manual dexterity
 Five digits on each hand and foot
 Flat nails and sensitive areas on
the ends of their digits
 The first digits are opposable.
Section 1
Primate Evolution
Primates
Senses
 Rely more on vision
 Binocular vision results in greater depth
perception.
 Color vision
 Decreased sense of smell
 Teeth are reduced in size and usually are
unspecialized.
Section 1
Primate Evolution
Primates
Locomotion
 Flexible bodies
 Limber shoulders and hips
 All primates except humans walk on all
four limbs.
Section 1
Primate Evolution
Primates
Complex Brain and Behaviors
 Have large brains in relation to their
body size
 Larger areas devoted to memory and
coordinating arm and leg movement
 Problem-solving abilities
 Well-developed social behaviors
Section 1
Primate Evolution
Primates
Reproductive Rate
 Have fewer offspring
 Newborns are
dependent on their
mothers for an extended period of time.
 Many are endangered.
Section 1
Primate Evolution
Primates
Primate Groups
 Arboreal, or tree-dwelling
 Terrestrial
 The strepsirrhines, or “wet-nosed”
 The haplorhines, or “dry-nosed”
Section 1
Primate Evolution
Section 1
Primate Evolution
Primates
Strepsirrhines
 Have large eyes and ears
 Rely predominantly
on smell for hunting
and social interaction
 Lemurs
 Sifakas
 Galagos
 Aye-ayes
Galago
Section 1
Primate Evolution
Section 1
Primate Evolution
Primates
Haplorhines
 Include tarsiers, monkeys, and apes
 The apes include gibbons, orangutans, gorillas,
chimpanzees, and humans.
 The anthropoids are split into the New World
monkeys and the Old World monkeys.
Section 1
Primate Evolution
Primates
 The New World monkeys are a group of about
60 species of arboreal monkeys.
 They inhabit the tropical forests of Mexico,
Central America, and South America.
 Most are diurnal and live together in social
bands.
 Distinguished by their prehensile tails
Section 1
Primate Evolution
Primates
 Old World monkeys live throughout Asia and
Africa.
 Diurnal and live in social groups
 Noses tend to be narrower and their bodies
are usually larger.
 None have prehensile tails, and some have
no tails.
 Most Old World monkeys have opposable
digits.
Section 1
Primate Evolution
Primates
 Apes have longer arms than legs, barrelshaped chests, no tails, and flexible wrists.
 Highly social and have complex vocalizations
 Classified into two subcategories: the lesser
apes and the great apes
Section 1
Primate Evolution
Primates
Lesser Apes
 Asian gibbons
 Siamangs
 Generally move from
branch to branch using a
hand-over-hand swinging
motion called brachiation
Gibbon
Section 1
Primate Evolution
Primates
Great Apes
 Orangutans
 Gorillas
 Chimpanzees
 Humans
Orangutan
Section 1
Primate Evolution
Primates
Primate
Evolution
Section 1
Primate Evolution
Primates
 Primate fossils appear in the fossil record at
the beginning of the Eocene, about 60 mya.
 Lemurlike primates were widespread by
about 50 mya.
 By the end of the Eocene, 30–35 mya, the
anthropoids had diverged and spread widely.
Section 1
Primate Evolution
Primates
 The end of the Eocene also saw the
appearance of the monkeys.
 Many scientists hypothesize that New World
monkeys evolved from an isolated group of
ancestral anthropoids.
 In Africa and Asia, the anthropoids continued
to evolve.
Section 2
Primate Evolution
Hominoids to Hominins
Hominoids
 Hominoids include all nonmonkey anthropoids—the
living and extinct gibbons, orangutans, chimpanzees,
gorillas, and humans.
Section 2
Primate Evolution
Hominoids to Hominins
 Scientists use fossils to determine when
ancestral hominoids diverged.
 Scientists also use biochemical data to.
Section 2
Primate Evolution
Hominoids to Hominins
Hominins
 The lineage that most likely led to humans
split off from the other African apes sometime
between 8 and 5 mya.
 Hominins have bigger brains.
 Thinner and flatter face
 Smaller teeth
 High manual dexterity
 Bipedal
Section 2
Primate Evolution
Hominoids to Hominins
Section 2
Primate Evolution
Hominoids to Hominins
Why bipedalism?
 A changing environment might have played
only a minor role.
 Most successful hominins might have been
those that evolved on the edge of the forest
and savanna.
Section 2
Primate Evolution
Hominoids to Hominins
Hominin Fossils
 Australopithecines lived in the east-central
and southern part of Africa between 4.2
and 1 mya.
 Small
 Apelike brains and jaws
 Teeth and limb joints were humanlike.
Section 2
Primate Evolution
Hominoids to Hominins
Taung Baby
 The first australopithecine fossil discovered
 Australopithecus africanus likely lived between
3.3 and 2.3 mya.
Lucy
 Lucy is one of the most complete
australopithecine fossils ever found.
 She was a member of the species A. afarensis,
which lived between 4 and 2.9 mya.
Section 2
Primate Evolution
Hominoids to Hominins
Paranthropus
 Thrived between 2 and 1.2 mya
 An offshoot of the human line that lived
alongside human ancestors but were not
directly related
Section 3
Primate Evolution
Human Ancestry
The Genus Homo
 The African environment became considerably
cooler between 3 and 2.5 mya.
 Homo species had bigger brains, lighter
skeletons, flatter faces, and smaller teeth
than their australopithecine ancestors.
Section 3
Primate Evolution
Section 3
Primate Evolution
Human Ancestry
 Homo habilis lived in Africa between about
2.4 and 1.4 mya.
 Brain averaged 650 cm3
 Smaller brow
 Reduced jaw
 Flatter face
 More humanlike teeth
 Small, long-armed, and retained the ability
to climb trees
Section 3
Primate Evolution
Human Ancestry
Homo habilis
Section 3
Primate Evolution
Human Ancestry
 Homo ergaster emerged within 500,000 years
of H. habilis.
 Taller
 Lighter
 Longer legs and shorter arms
 Brain averaged 1000 cm3
Section 3
Primate Evolution
Human Ancestry
Homo ergaster
Section 3
Primate Evolution
Human Ancestry
 H. ergaster appears to have been the first
African Homo species to migrate.
 Eurasian forms of H. ergaster are called
Homo erectus.
 H. erectus lived between 1.8 million and
400,000 years ago.
Section 3
Primate Evolution
Human Ancestry
Homo erectus
 Larger than H. habilis
 Brain capacity ranged from about 900 cm3
to about 1100 cm3
 Longer skull, lower forehead, thicker facial
bones, and a prominent browridge
Section 3
Primate Evolution
Human Ancestry
 Homo floresiensis lived about 18,000
years ago.
 About 1 m tall
 Brain and body proportions like all the
australopithecines.
Section 3
Primate Evolution
Human Ancestry
 Homo neanderthalensis evolved exclusively
in Europe and Asia
about 200,000
years ago.
 Shorter but had
more muscle mass
 Larger brains than
modern humans
 Thick skulls, bony browridges, and large noses
Section 3
Primate Evolution
Human Ancestry
Emergence of Modern Humans
 Homo sapiens is characterized by a more
slender appearance than all other Homo
species.
 Thinner skeletons, rounder skulls, and smaller
faces with prominent chins
 Their brain capacity averages 1350 cm3.
 Appeared in the fossil record, in what is now
Ethiopia, about 195,000 years ago
Section 3
Primate Evolution
Human Ancestry
Out-of-Africa Hypothesis
 200,000 years ago, a morphologically diverse genus
of hominins were
present.
 30,000 years ago,
only modern
humans remained.
 Modern humans
evolved only once, in Africa, and then migrated.
Section 3
Primate Evolution
Human Ancestry
“Mitochondrial Eve”
 Mitochondrial DNA changes very little
over time.
 The population with the most variation
should be the population that has had the
longest time to accumulate diversity.
 H. sapiens emerged in Africa about 200,000
years ago from a hypothetical
“Mitochondrial Eve.”
Section 3
Primate Evolution
Human Ancestry
Cro-Magnons
 Early modern humans expressed themselves
symbolically and artistically.
 Developed sophisticated tools and weapons
 The first to fish, the first to tailor clothing, and
the first to domesticate animals
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Chapter Resource Menu
Chapter Diagnostic Questions
Formative Test Questions
Chapter Assessment Questions
Standardized Test Practice
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Chapter
Primate Evolution
Chapter Diagnostic
Questions
Which is not a characteristic of primates?
A. manual dexterity
B. keen eyesight
C. high reproduction rate
D. large brain
1.
2.
3.
4.
A
B
C
D
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Chapter Diagnostic
Questions
Scientists classify primates into subgroups
based on what characteristics?
A. tails, bone structure, and brain size
B. noses, eyes, and teeth
1.
A
C. range, size, and active period 2. B
3.
C
D. teeth, nails, and range
4.
D
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Chapter Diagnostic
Questions
Which is not classified as a Great Ape?
A. gorilla
B. gibbon
C. chimpanzee
D. orangutan
1.
2.
3.
4.
A
B
C
D
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Section 1 Formative
Questions
What enables primates to have a high level
of manual dexterity?
A. an opposable first digit
B. binocular color vision
C. developed hind limbs
D. highly moveable arms
1.
2.
3.
4.
A
B
C
D
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Section 1 Formative
Questions
In what group are the anthropoids?
A. lemurs
B. lesser apes
C. haplorines
D. strepsirrhines
1.
2.
3.
4.
A
B
C
D
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Section 1 Formative
Questions
Which represents the journey of the
ancestors of New World monkeys?
A. Asia → Africa
B. Europe → Asia
C. Madagascar → Africa
D. Africa → South America
1.
2.
3.
4.
A
B
C
D
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Section 1 Formative
Questions
What great ape species live in Asia and
are the largest arboreal primates?
A. baboons
B. bonobos
C. gorillas
D. orangutans
1.
2.
3.
4.
A
B
C
D
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Section 1 Formative
Questions
Which group of apes has only one species
that survives today?
A. arboreals
B. hominins
C. hominoids
D. lesser apes
1.
2.
3.
4.
A
B
C
D
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Section 2 Formative
Questions
From what type of
data was this possible
divergence of hominoids
constructed?
A. the fossil record
B. DNA comparisons
C. anthropoid analysis
D. morphological features
1.
2.
3.
4.
A
B
C
D
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Section 2 Formative
Questions
Which is a distinguishing characteristic of
hominins?
A. bipedalism
B. ability to use tools
C. unspecialized teeth
D. complex communication
1.
2.
3.
4.
A
B
C
D
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Section 2 Formative
Questions
What advantage does bipedalism have over
quadrupedalism?
A. ability to run faster
B. less energy requirements
1.
A
C. less strain on the hips and back2. B
3.
C
D. ability to travel over long distances
4.
D
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Section 2 Formative
Questions
Which was the first genus of hominins that
were truly bipedal?
A. Altiatlasius
B. Australopithecus
C. Homo
D. Proconsul
1.
2.
3.
4.
A
B
C
D
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Section 3 Formative
Questions
What genus of hominins is thought to have
evolved from the australopithecines when the
African environment cooled about 2.5 mya?
A. Andrepithecus
B. Homo
C. Kenyanthropus
D. Parathropus
1.
2.
3.
4.
A
B
C
D
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Section 3 Formative
Questions
What were species in the genus Homo the
first to do?
A. carry objects
B. control fire
C. live in savannas
D. walk upright
1.
2.
3.
4.
A
B
C
D
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Section 3 Formative
Questions
Which Homo species still had long arms and
seemed to retain the ability to climb trees?
A. H. erectus
B. H. ergaster
C. H. fluresiensis
D. H. habilis
1.
2.
3.
4.
A
B
C
D
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Section 3 Formative
Questions
Neanderthals evolved exclusively in
Europe and Asia.
A. True
B. False
1. A
2. B
3. C
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Section 3 Formative
Questions
How does mitochondrial DNA analysis support
the Out-of-Africa hypothesis?
A. Mitochondrial DNA changes occur at different
rates.
B. Humans today have very different mitochondrial
DNA.
1.
A
C. Africans have the greatest diversity in
2. their
B
mitochondrial DNA.
3.
C
4.
D
D. The mitochondrial DNA of humans throughout
the
world is identical.
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Chapter Assessment
Questions
Use the image to determine the closest living
relatives to humans.
Answer: chimpanzees and bonobos
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Chapter Assessment
Questions
Describe the
foramen magnum
and indicate the
difference in its
location in each
skeleton.
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Chapter Assessment
Questions
Answer: The foramen
magnum is the
hole in the skull
where the spine
extends from the
brain. It is in the
back of the skull
in quadrupedal animals (first image)
and at the base of the skull in
hominins (second image).
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Chapter Assessment
Questions
The discovery of what fossil ended the
debate regarding bipedalism and
Australopithecus?
A. Taung baby
B. Lucy
C. Java man
D. Proconsul
1.
2.
3.
4.
A
B
C
D
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Standardized Test
Practice
Why do most primates have a decreased
sense of smell?
A. They are able to stand upright.
B. They live in tropical regions.
C. They are more active during the day.
1.
A
B
D. They have an increased sense of 2.vision.
3.
4.
C
D
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Standardized Test
Practice
What advantage does binocular vision
provide?
A. ability to see at night
B. better color vision
C. capacity to reason
D. greater depth perception
1.
2.
3.
4.
A
B
C
D
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Standardized Test
Practice
What enables primates to learn and develop
complex social behaviors?
A. ability to stand and walk upright
B. a large amount of time spent in trees
C. long-term dependency on parents1.
2.
D. faces that tend to be more flattened
3.
4.
A
B
C
D
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Standardized Test
Practice
What was probably associated with the
hunting and/or scavenging lifestyle of
H. ergaster?
A. fire-making
B. language
C. migrating
D. symbolic expression
1.
2.
3.
4.
A
B
C
D
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Standardized Test
Practice
What does the
early human timeline
show about the
evolution of hominins?
A. Different hominins existed in different parts of the
1.
A
world.
2.
B
B. Hominins that lived at the same time were
very
3.
C
similar.
4.
D
C. The periods of existence of many early hominins
overlapped.
D. There is a direct descent from the early hominins to
modern humans.
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Standardized Test
Practice
How do most scientists explain the widespread
distribution of modern humans on Earth?
A. They evolved by convergent evolution.
B. They evolved by reproductive isolation.
C. They evolved from dispersed populations.
1.
A
2.
B
D. They evolved in one place, then migrated.
3.
4.
C
D
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Glencoe Biology Transparencies
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Image Bank
Section 1
Primate Evolution
Vocabulary
Section 1
opposable first digit
prehensile tail
binocular vision
hominin
diurnal
nocturnal
arboreal
anthropoid
Section 2
Primate Evolution
Vocabulary
Section 2
hominoid
bipedal
australopithecine
Section 3
Primate Evolution
Vocabulary
Section 3
Homo
Neanderthal
Cro-Magnon
Chapter
Primate Evolution
Animation
 Visualizing Primates
Chapter
Primate Evolution